Yogurt Parfait Bar

My cute sister-in-law is having a baby boy in the next few weeks, so we got together to throw her a baby shower. This was a morning time shower, and we were having some trouble coming up with things to serve that were not sweet and carby. (it's a word, right? As in "loaded with carbs"?!) My sister-in-law called and said "What do you think about a yogurt parfait bar?". My mind started going about a million miles an hour, thinking of different combinations of yogurt, fruit and granolas. I was so excited!

So, I'm going to share with you what I did! I think that it turned out great, and we received a lot of compliments. (My mom-in-law did the decorations...aren't they SOOOOoooo cute?!!)

I decided on 3 different parfaits that people could assemble, and made a little sign to show the delicious suggestions! Some people followed the suggestions, and some people just threw things together.

There was an Apple Pie Parfait made with an apple pie type filling that I made (recipe to follow), vanilla yogurt, and graham cracker crumbs. It surprised me, but this one ended up being my favorite parfait overall.

Then, we had a Berry Berry Parfait with Strawberry Yogurt, mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries and blackberries), and Triple Nut Cranberry Granola (recipe to follow). The berries were fabulous and so sweet. Thank goodness Costco sells good produce even in the middle of the winter!

The last was a Tropical Paradise Parfait that consisted of vanilla yogurt, mixed fruit (pineapple, kiwi, bananas, and mandarin oranges), and a fabulous Coconut and Cashew Granola that I found on Mel's Kitchen Cafe Blog. I adore Melanie and all of her yummy recipes! This granola was to die for. I still can't stop eating it...days after! Visit her blog and make it!

My awesome mother-in-law ran to IKEA for me and picked up these cute jars so that I would have something fun to put the granola in. They worked out great, and were a pretty good deal!

Now for the recipes!

Triple Nut Cranberry Granola

2 cups regular oats
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chopped slivered almonds
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup apple juice
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray
1/3 cup dried cranberries (Craisins work well)

Preheat oven to 300°. Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine juice, honey, and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat just until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in the oil and vanilla. Pour honey mixture over oat mixture, stirring to coat. Spread mixture in a thin layer onto a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray (or you can use a silpat). Bake at 300° for 10 minutes, then stir well. Bake an additional 10 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Spoon granola into a bowl and stir in dried cranberries. Cool completely.

Note: Store completely cooled granola in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Yield about 4 3/4 cups (serving size: about 1/2 cup) **If you’re going to double this, use two cookie sheets or else it doesn’t get done enough!

Apples and Cinnamon Filling/Topping

(this makes a pretty large amount...you can cut it in half!)

2 pounds Granny Smith Apples (about 6-7 medium sized apples)

1 Cube Butter

3/4 C Brown Sugar

Cinnamon (to taste)

Dash of Nutmeg

1/2 Tablespoon All Purpose Flour

Peel and chop apples into small pieces. Place butter into a large frying pan and turn heat to medium. Melt the butter, and then add the apples. Sprinkle apples with brown sugar and stir to coat apples. Liberally sprinkle apples with cinnamon (this is to taste...I went back and added more at the end). Sprinkle with a dash of nutmeg (or more if you really like nutmeg!). Cook apples for 4-5 minutes and then add the flour towards the end to help thicken the butter/juices just a little. I cooked my apples for a total of about 7 minutes before they were the consistency that I wanted. I didn't want them too soft and mushy.

I didn't get a good picture of the apple topping at the shower, but the next day I heated it up and topped our pancakes with it, and oh my goodness... I may never eat another pancake without this topping. It was to die for! The tart granny smith apples are so good with the caramely sweet brown sugar and spicy cinnamon. I thought that this would also be fabulous over vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt as well. Mmmm....now I need a snack!

P.S. We also served delicious cinnamon rolls, some mini apple muffins and my favorite Chile Eggs! It was a delicious brunch!

Zucchini ideas and Zucchini Bread

I love this time of year! I'll be posting some fun fall recipes soon...but recently we have been harvesting lots from our garden! Since I'm not a pro at canning (yet!) I have been doing simple things like making freezer jam (raspberry peach...yum!) and shredding some zucchini to freeze and use during the winter. If you like baking with zucchini and you have some big ones from your garden, this is a must!

I made some low fat zucchini cookies while we were shredding.

We had this pasta for dinner this week. I used peppers and zucchini out of my garden. Mmmmmm....

Also, Zucchini Bread! When I have those big zucchini's sitting on my counter, all I want to do is make zucchini bread. Zucchini Bread is so moist and yummy. I experimented with my recipe and made a healthier version so that I can eat it more often, or eat more in one sitting...or (insert here whatever YOU tell yourself to make yourself feel better about stuffing your face).

When I say "healthier", please don't think "yuckier". I really try not to sacrifice taste to make something healthier. I thought this bread turned out really good and I got some good reviews from others as well! I have included the original recipe, and in the parenthesis, I included the changes I made to make it a bit healthier. I may or may not have added a bunch of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips to my "healthier" recipe. shhhhhh!

Zucchini Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour (substitute half whole wheat pastry flour)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil (substitute half vanilla yogurt, so 1/2 C oil, 1/2 C yogurt)

1 C brown sugar

1 1/4 C white sugar

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups grated zucchini

1 cup chopped walnuts or chocolate chips (optional)

Cinnamon and sugar (optional)

Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch or two 9x5 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl. In a large bowl, beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together for 1-2 minutes, or until well combined. Add sifted ingredients gradually to the creamed mixture, and mix just until combined. Stir in zucchini and nuts or chocolate chips. (Tip: Combine nuts and/or chocolate chips in a small bowl with 1-2 tsp of flour before mixing into the batter. Sometimes this helps the nuts and chocolate chips not sink to the bottom of the pan.) Pour batter into prepared pans and sprinkle the top with some cinnamon and sugar. Bake for about 60 minutes (or about 50 minutes for two 9x5 pans), or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Mixed Roasted Vegetables and Pasta

My cute sister-in-law Kristen sent me this recipe. It's so yummy and quite healthy for you, which is good cuz my little family can pretty much finish the entire dish in one sitting....and it fills a cookie sheet, so...uh...good thing it's loaded with veggies! I made a couple of slight changes, but it was pretty fantastic to begin with! If you have planted zucchini and peppers in your garden, bookmark this recipe and get excited to make it soon!

Mixed Roasted Vegetables and Pasta

1 medium green or yellow bell pepper, cut into one inch pieces
1 medium red bell pepper cut into one inch pieces
1 medium onion, cut into 8 wedges and separated
2 medium zucchini, cut into one inch pieces
8 oz whole mushrooms, optional (if they're big, I cut them in half)
1/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tsp Italian seasoning
2 cloves Garlic, minced or pressed (or 2 tsp. bottled chopped garlic)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 C (6 oz) pasta - penne, cavatappi or gemelli work well
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and cut into 2 inch pieces (the picture shows cherry tomatos, which can be a bit overwhelming unless you really love them)
1 bag (8oz) shredded Italian Style 4 cheese blend (2 cups)

Heat oven to 450 degrees. In a 15x10x1 inch pan (standard cookie sheet with sides) or 3 quart casserole, place bell peppers, onion, zucchini and mushrooms. Sprinkle with 1/3 C chopped basil. In a small bowl, mix together oil, vinegar, Italian seasoning, garlic, and salt and pepper. Drizzle evenly over vegetables. Bake uncovered 25 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook and drain pasta according to package directions. Reduce oven temperature to 350 and add tomatoes and pasta to vegetable mixture; toss to coat. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered 15 minutes longer or until veggies are tender and cheese is melted. Just before serving, sprinkle with reserved chopped basil. Serve immediately. This is excellent with a green salad and some garlic bread!

(This time I added some grilled chicken that I seasoned with olive oil, garlic, and S&P just before the 2nd baking, but really, it's so good either way!)

Italian Stuff

For some strange reason, I had a lot of time to cook while I was in college. Some of my favorite recipes come from the time that I used to cook for my room mates and my...uh... boyfriends. (shhhhh...don't mention this to my husband) This recipe came from that time in my life. I always just called it "Italian Stuff", and I've never officially named it. Anyone have a good idea for a real name?

Baked pasta has a tendency to be dry, so don't be afraid if it looks a bit saucy. In my opinion, it needs more than one jar of sauce, so you can use a jar and a half of sauce, or add some tomato sauce and Italian seasoning to a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce.

1 lb Mostaccoli, Rigatoni or Penne noodles
1 lb Italian Sausage, bulk or removed from casings (I always use pork sausage)
36 oz Spaghetti Sauce (or a 24 oz jar plus 2 8 oz cans of tomato sauce and 1 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning)
2 cloves Garlic
1 Medium Onion, chopped
1 Zucchini, thinly sliced
1 small Yellow Squash, thinly sliced
8 oz Mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 medium Tomatoes, thinly sliced
3 Cups Mozzarella Cheese, grated
1-2 tsp. Olive Oil
Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Saute onion and sausage together in a large frying pan until brown. Drain sausage if needed. Add spaghetti (and tomato sauce plus Italian seasoning if using) to the sausage mixture. Simmer on low for 5 minutes to let flavors come together. Boil noodles according to package directions. I usually cook the noodles for the minimum time on the package because they're going to be baked, and you don't want soggy noodles! Combine cooked noodles, sauce, and 1 1/2 cups grated cheese. Spoon mixture into an 11x15 pan or deep casserole dish and bake, covered, for 20 minutes, or until it's a little brown around the edges.

Add 1-2 tsp of olive oil to a frying pan and add 2 cloves of minced or pressed garlic. Saute for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add squash and mushrooms and cook, just until softened.

Remove pasta from oven and cover with remaining cheese, sauteed veggies, and sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle tomatoes with a couple of tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Return the pan back to the oven for 5-10 minutes or until tomatoes are softened. Serve hot with garlic bread and a green salad!

Oh, by the way...this makes probably about 10 servings. It's pretty large, so feel free to freeze half of it, but I would freeze it without the veggies on top because I can imagine that they would get pretty soggy. Enjoy!


(the yellow squash didn't look great, so this time, I used 2 zucchinis)

Peanut Butter Crunch Snack Balls

I've had this recipe in my "to try" file for a while,
and finally got around to trying them. I follow a few food blogs, including mykitchencafe.blogspot.com, and that is where I found this recipe. The recipe on her blog is huge, and makes over a hundred of these little goodies. I didn't want to waste a ton of peanut butter just in case we didn't love them, so I ended up doing 1/3rd of the huge recipe. If you want the larger measurements, click here.

Anyway, we ended up loving these...even my two 3-year-olds! Yeah! Also, they are pretty healthy, and I liked how they stayed crunchy even after a couple of days of being in the fridge. I rolled them in crushed mini-wheats, which are kind-of pokey. So, next time I think that I'll roll them in something else, like graham cracker crumbs or nilla wafer crumbs. These are great for a summer time treat since they don't have to be baked. Try them!

2/3 Cup Honey
2 Cup Peanut Butter
1 Cup Rice Krispies (I used generic...cheaper)
1/2 Cup Grape Nuts (Do NOT use generic grape nuts, they're really gross for some reason)
1/4 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce
2/3 Cup Shredded Coconut
1 Cup Crushed Cereal (I used Honey Nut Cheerios, it's just what I had)
1/2 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips or Butterscotch Chips (I used both, but I would stick with the mini chips in the future because the other chips were too big and you didn't get one in every ball. You could also use raisins or something a little more healthy...but why? :) )
1 1/2-2 C crushed mini-wheat cereal (plain or frosted shredded wheat) or other crumbs of your choice (maybe graham crackers)
3-4 Tablespoons Dry Powdered Milk

Combine all ingredients except for the powdered milk and the crushed mini-wheat cereal. Stir well until all ingredients are combined. Add powdered milk a tablespoon at a time until you get a soft dough-like consistency. I ended up using 3 1/2 Tablespoons. At this point, chill the dough, covered, in the refrigerator for about a half hour. This is not necessary, but it makes them less sticky and easier to roll. (My small Pampered Chef cookie scoop worked perfectly for these, but if you don't have one, just use a spoon.) Scoop out small pieces of dough and roll into a ball. Then, roll the balls into the crushed shredded wheat or other crumbs of your choice. Refrigerate and enjoy!

Green Chile Enchiladas

I apologize for disappearing from the food blogging world for a while, but I've had a little case of morning sickness that hasn't made cooking or eating very pleasant. Well, now that I'm over that (mostly), I'm back to loving food, and hopefully can keep up a little better on my blog!!

These enchiladas are an original recipe that I created while I was in college. Evidently I was a little more creative then than I am now! So, for those of you who were my room mates, you have probably had these. I hadn't made them in a really long time and forgot how good they were, so I had to post them. They take a little time to do all of the prep work, like chopping the veggies, but they're really not difficult to make, and SO worth it!! They are excellent with either hamburger or chicken. This time my wonderful husband grilled the chicken, and they turned out really good! You can make these vegetarian by leaving out the meat. The flavor of the enchilada sauce is so good! Make sure you try these!

Ingredients:

28 oz can Green Chile Enchilada sauce, or more if you like it sausy (La Victoria is my favorite)
1 medium Zucchini, sliced
½ Bell Pepper (red, green, yellow, or whatever you like)
2 Carrots, grated
2 small Tomatoes chopped
1 medium Onion, chopped
1 15 oz can black beans, drained
1 lb. Hamburger or chicken

12 flour tortillas

½ pkg. Taco Seasoning
1 Clove Garlic
8-10 oz Jack or cheddar cheese, grated

If you are using hamburger, brown the meat. Add ½ package taco seasoning and half of the water called for, and continue to cook according to the package directions. If you are using chicken, drizzle chicken with 1-2 tsp of cooking oil and sprinkle with taco seasoning. Grill or saute until chicken is no longer pink. Once the chicken is cooled enough to handle, cut it into bite sized pieces.

Saute onion, bell pepper, and zucchini with a little bit of oil or cooking spray and garlic for just a couple of minutes, until they are tender. Don't cook them too long, or they'll become soggy. Add tomatoes and carrots last since they cook the fastest. (sorry for the steamy picture...but I love the beautiful color of the veggies once you put everything together!)

Here are step by step pictures of putting them together. First spread a couple of large spoon-fulls of sauce on the bottom of your greased pan. (Note about the pan: I used an 11x15 pan this time, but if you don't have one, use a 9x13 and also an 8x8 pan to fit all of the enchiladas, you may half this recipe!!)

First, put a spoon full of beans on the tortilla,

then, add some chicken,

and veggies

roll them up and put them in your pan.

Pour the rest of the can of sauce over your enchiladas, and then make sure that the edges of the tortillas are covered with sauce so that they don't turn out dry and crunchy after baking.

Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Remove pan from the oven and sprinkle the top with cheese. Put the pan back into the oven for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve hot with sour cream.

Hot Cereal

I love hot cereal. There's nothing like a bowl of warm yumminess on a cold snowy morning. My current favorite right now is a mixture of cracked wheat and oatmeal....mmmmmm. This is low fat and high in fiber, and really good for you if you don't load it down with sugar. Oh, and did I mention cheap? You can find cracked wheat at lots of health food type stores, or order it online. My secret to not adding tons of sugar (I have a hard time with this cuz I have a sweet tooth!) is to add a bit of unsweetened applesauce and some raisins, and then it only needs a little sugar. This is my favorite way to prepare it:

1/4 C Cracked Wheat
1/4 C Old Fashioned Oats (don't use quick oats, or you might have a soggy mess)
1 1/2 C Water (or 3/4 C water, 3/4 Cup milk...this makes it a little creamier)
Pinch of Salt
1/4 C Raisins or Craisins (you could also use fresh or frozen blueberries, but I wouldn't add them until the last few minutes of cooking time)
4 tsp. Brown Sugar
1/2-1 tsp Cinnamon (depending on how much you like cinnamon)
2 Tbs. Applesauce

Add cereals, salt, and water to a small pot and simmer, stirring periodically, on low heat for 13-15 minutes, or until it reaches your desired consistency. If you are using milk instead of water, be sure not to let it get above a simmer. If you like your raisins soft and plump, add them in at the beginning. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Serve with additional milk (or sugar, or honey), if desired. There are lots of possibilities, be creative and have fun with your cereal! If you split this into two servings (as written), it is about 3 weight watchers points per serving.

**If you need to have a quick breakfast during the week before work, make a double batch of this on Saturday or Sunday and put it in the fridge. Each morning, just spoon some out, add a little milk, and reheat it in the microwave. I was surprised at how good and fresh it tasted after being reheated!

Curried Butternut Apple Soup

I woke up to snow this morning. Snow on the ground equals soup in my house. This is a simple and yummy squash soup. It is good as a main dish, or would be great as an appetizer/side dish as well.

Last year, I made this soup and chopped up two medium sized butternut squash (which is a pain, by the way). I then washed my hands and realized that the skin was peeling off of my fingers, and they were all itchy. I had a bad reaction to the squash. Who would have guessed? So, this year, I baked the squash and scooped it out of it's shell. If you haven't done this, it's so easy. Just cut the top stem off of your squash, and then cut it in half. Scoop out the seeds. Line a cookie sheet with foil (do this please...squash leaves a yucky film on things when you bake it) and place your squash cut-side down. Pour about a cup of water in the pan, and bake it at 350 for about an hour or until it's soft. You can scoop the squash out and use it in this soup, or just as a side dish with some butter, salt and pepper. Easy. OR...you can buy a bag of pre-chopped, skinned and cleaned butternut squash at Costco. Easiest!

Okay, now get your other ingredients ready:

¼ C butter
2 C chopped onion (about 2 medium onions)
1 rib celery, chopped
2 ½ tsp. curry powder
2 medium butternut squash (about 2 1/2 – 3 lbs) peeled, seeded and cubed
3 medium apples, peeled, cored and chopped
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup apple cider or apple juice


In a heavy sauce pan, combine onion, celery, butter and curry powder. Cook over low heat until veggies are tender (10-15 minutes), stirring often. Add squash, apples and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until squash and apples are cooked thoroughly.

You need to strain a little bit of liquid off of the mixture once it's cooked. I do this by getting a big ladle or spoon and just skimming liquid off of the top, while trying to keep most of the ingredients still in the pot. Take off as much liquid as you can. Next, puree the apple-squash mixture with one cup of the strained liquid. You will probably need to do this in 3-4 batches in a blender. Don't over-stuff a blender with hot soup or it will pop the top off of your blender. Don't ask me how I know that. If you have a hand mixer, excellent. Stick that puppy into your pan and just blend. Add cider or juice to reach desired consistency. Garnish with grated apple, or chopped pear, yogurt or sour cream.

This is, of course, excellent in bread bowls. I'll post the bread bowl recipe soon!!

Sour Cream Waffles

I love waffles. Blueberry, strawberry topped, green for St. Patty's day. You name it...I love it. I used to try not to make waffles very often because they usually have quite a bit of oil in them, and let's face it...they're not that healthy.

So, when I found this recipe, (I can't remember where, and I'm sure that I've changed it enough to call it my own recipe) I was excited. They don't have any oil, and they taste great. We have these for dinner quite often. They are so filling and yummy! I love breakfast for dinner! Keep in mind, these are not light and fluffy waffles. They are more dense and kinda chewey...but a good chewey, don't worry.

I use Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, which has the same health benefits as other whole wheat flour, but it's light and fluffy. You can purchase this gem at some supermarkets, and probably any health food type store. I get mine and Sunflower market (I heart Sunflower) and it looks just like regular all purpose flour. You can buy it in bulk, or in a 5 lb bag. If you don't have any WW pastry flour, just use all AP Flour. Do spray your waffle iron generously with non-stick cooking spray because they tend to stick more than other waffles. Last time I made these, I put the batter into my waffle iron, then threw in a few half frozen bluberries, and it was SO good!

1 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten

In a bowl, mix together milk, sour cream, yogurt, and vanilla. Sift flour into a separate, large bowl; stir in baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add sour cream mixture and eggs to flour mixture; blend until smooth. Cook on a greased waffle iron until golden brown; lift off with a fork.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Okay, this is for all of you who are scared of this yummy purple veggie. I decided to take pictures as I went along so that you can see that this is easy and NOT scary. Eggplant is kind-of like Zucchini in that it takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with. Eggplant Parmesan is usually fried, but this version is baked and very healthy. I got the original recipe out of a Weight Watcher's cookbook, and the tailored it to my tastes (and made it a bit easier by using prepared sauce and bread crumbs). My husband is a meat kind of guy, but he loves this dish. So, now that you're out of excuses...go ahead and try it!

Ingredients:

1 medium-large Eggplant

2 large Eggs

2 Tablespoons Fat Free Milk

1 Cup Italian-seasoned Bread Crumbs

1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

3 T grated Parmesan Cheese

Prepared Marinara Sauce

When shopping for an eggplant, make sure that your eggplant is firm, not squishy. The skin should be purple and smooth. You should plan on using your eggplant within 1-2 days of when it is purchased. Store it in the refrigerator in a paper sack. When you're ready to prepare the Eggplant Parmesan, wash your eggplant, chop off the stem end, and slice the eggplant into 1/4-1/2 inch slices. The thinner you cut them, the faster they will cook. Preheat oven to 375 and spray 2 baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray.

Lightly beat together the eggs and milk in a shallow bowl. Place bread crumbs in another bowl. Dip the eggplant in the egg mixture, then in the bread crumbs, and arrange in one layer on the baking sheets.

Lightly spray the top of the eggplant with non-stick spray. Bake until the eggplant is softened, and lightly brown, about 25 minutes.

While the eggplant is baking, spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray, then cover the bottom with sauce. Grate your cheeses.

Remove the browned, softened eggplant from the oven and carefully layer your eggplant and sauce. The eggplant will soak up some of the sauce, so make sure you pile on the sauce! You should use the whole jar.

Sprinkle with cheeses and bake uncovered until hot and bubbling, and the cheese is golden, about 20 minutes.

Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with salad or a side of pasta with sauce. Makes 6 servings, 5 Weight Watchers points per serving.

Easy Cucumber and Tomato Salad

We are growing both cucumbers and tomatos in our garden this year, and one of my favorite things to do is to chop them up and throw them together with some balsamic dressing. They look so pretty and taste so good!

I just buy a packet of Good Seasonings Italian Dressing mix, but instead of using what it calls for, I use balsamic vinegar and olive oil and mix it according to the package directions. For a different taste, sometimes I use apple cidar vinegar and canola oil. Both dressings are easy, and fabulous on these veggies! Sometimes I add a little bit more water and a little less oil just to save a few calories. These are two of my favorite dressings!

Cinnamon and Raisin English Muffins

My kids love English Muffins. I try to buy the healthy ones that are whole grain. Their favorite ones are the whole grain with cinnamon and raisins, which cost almost $3 for six, and never go on sale. So, I came across a recipe for English Muffins. After a few times making it, I think that I finally got it down. Who knew that you could make home made English Muffins? They don't have all of the nooks and crannies that regular English Muffins have, but they sure are good! Don't be intimidated, they're pretty easy to make. I tried making them with all whole wheat flour, and they were a little too dense, so I would suggest adding *** half white flour as the recipe below calls for. Enjoy!

1 cup milk
3 Tbs. Honey
1 1/2 Tbs. active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
¼ cup shortening
3 C All Purpose Flour
3 C Whole Wheat Flour (I used White Whole Wheat Flour)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ C raisins

Warm the milk and shortening in a small saucepan until the milk bubbles (don't let it boil!) and the shortening is melted. Then, remove mixture from heat. Mix in Honey, stirring until dissolved. Let cool until lukewarm. (this is important because you don't want to kill your yeast) Once the mixture has cooled to lukewarm, add your warm water, and the yeast. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the milk mixture and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Add salt, cinnamon, and the rest of the flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Knead for 7-10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until double, about 1 hour.

Punch the dough down. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut rounds with biscuit cutter, drinking glass, or empty tuna can. Sprinkle waxed paper with cornmeal and set the rounds on it to rise. Dust tops of muffins with cornmeal also. Cover and let rise 30-45 minutes. Spray griddle with non-stick cooking spray. Cook muffins for about 25 minutes at 300 degrees on an electric griddle, flipping every 5 minutes. (You can also cook in a large frying pan on the stove top. Cook for 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes on medium low.) Allow to cool and place in plastic bags for storage. To use, split and toast. Makes about 18-20 muffins.

***Revision: After I started grinding my own wheat, I have made these with all whole wheat flour, or 5 C whole wheat flour, and 1 cup AP flour, and they turn out fabulous! There is something about grinding the wheat that makes it not quite as dense!

Chicken Caesar Pizza and Amazing Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

I found this recipe on the "Taste the Joy" blog (see links to the right). It was really good! The recipe calls for a Boboli pizza crust, but I made my own, and I'll post the recipe for the pizza dough. I used Briann's Caesar dressing because it's my favorite. I also used a large leftover chicken breast that we grilled that had been seasoned with Italian seasoning, garlic and a little olive oil. I added some chopped green onion and tomato to the pizza before I cooked it. Without the salad on top, it reminded me a lot of Papa Murphy's Chicken Garlic pizza. With the salad, it reminded me of something that you order at California Pizza Kitchen. Yum!

Chicken Caesar Pizza

1 Boboli pizza crust
fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
romaine lettuce, chopped
3 Roma tomatoes
1-2 chicken breasts
1 C Cardini’s Caesar dressing
2 C mozzarella cheese, shredded

Cut chicken into thin strips and sauté in 2 TBS Caesar dressing. Brush 2 TBS (I added a little bit more than this) of dressing on pizza crust. Top with mozzarella cheese and cooked chicken. Grate Parmesan cheese over top of pizza. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is hot and melted. While pizza is baking, combine lettuce and tomatoes in bowl and coat with dressing and Parmesan cheese. Let pizza cool 10 min and top with lettuce mixture.

Now for the crust:

I think that I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, but I can't remember. We have mostly used this pizza crust for grilled pizza, but it is good baked as well. I have made a few different pizza crusts that call for whole wheat flour, but I feel like the ones that have ALL whole wheat flour are too dense and overwhelming for pizza. I think that this one is a good compromise with part white flour. When I made the Chicken Caesar Pizza, I split the dough in half and rolled out two (one plain cheese for the kids, of course!) thin crust pizzas on two different greased cookie sheets and baked them for 15-20 minutes. This made a lot of pizza, and we had great leftovers!

Amazing Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1. In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.
2. Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.
4.Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan. Top pizza with your favorite toppings, such as sauce, cheese, meats, or vegetables.
5. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes (depending on thickness) in the preheated oven, until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top.

All Bran Muffins

I got done making the banana chocolate chip cookies, and decided to test this recipe that I found on the Munch n' Crunch blog. I was very skeptical because I don't really like low-fat muffins, but I thought that they turned out yummy. They are a bit chewy, as low-fat muffins often are, but the flavor was great. My kids each ate a whole one! The best thing was...the nutritional information shows that they are about 1 1/2 Weight Watcher's points ! (on the old plan) If you like bran muffins, definitely try these! Next time, I'm going to add some small pieces of chopped up apple and a bit more cinnamon just for fun.

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (I used Whole Wheat Pastry Flour)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 TBS baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups of All Bran Cereal (boxed, ready to eat)
1 1/4 cups skim milk
2 egg whites
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine All Bran cereal and milk. Let it stand about 2 min or until cereal softens. Add egg whites and applesauce. Beat well. Add flour mixture stirring only until combined. Divide evenly into 12 2 1/2 inch muffin pan cups coated with cooing spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 min or until golden brown. Serve warm. Makes 12 muffins
Nutrition info: 124 calories, 1 gram of fat, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein. (1 ½ WW points per muffin)
**This is a great recipe to double and freeze. These muffins are great quick breakfast to pull from the freezer and heat up in the microwave.

Waldorf Coleslaw

We had this the other night with sloppy joes, and it was such an easy dinner. This is a nice twist on the traditional coleslaw. It is best if you let it sit for an hour or more before serving it to let the flavors develop. This recipe is from myrecipes.com. I figured that it has 1 point per serving for those of you doing Weight Watchers! I didn't tell anyone that this is a light recipe, and everyone eating dinner loved it!


3 cups shredded cabbage
3 cups diced Granny Smith apple
6 tablespoons raisins
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons plain fat-free yogurt
2 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine yogurt and remaining ingredients, stirring well with a whisk. Pour over cabbage mixture; toss well. Cover and chill 2 hours. Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)

CALORIES 69(23% from fat); FAT 1.8g (sat 0.2g,mono 0.2g,poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 1.3g; CHOLESTEROL 1mg; CALCIUM 27mg; SODIUM 91mg; FIBER 1.9g; IRON 0.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 14.1g

Playgroup Granola Bars

We've really been enjoying these granola bars. My little girl begs for them all day long. I was surprised at how good they turned out, and how they really do taste like granola bars! I am going to try some variations next time just for fun. I got this recipe on allrecipes.com, and one of the reviewers said that they like their granola bars chewy, so she only cooks them for 18 minutes and they stay chewy instead of getting crunchy. I baked mine for 20 minutes, just until they were barely browning around the edges. They are chewy and just how we like them! I listed some variations that I made to the recipe below.

Playgroup Granola Bars

2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I only used ½ C)
1/2 cup wheat germ
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I used 1 tsp)
1 cup all-purpose flour (I used 1/2 C Whole Wheat Pastry Flour)
3/4 cup raisins (optional, next time I'll try dried blueberries)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm.

UPDATE: Okay, I made these again. This time I used all Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (you can find this at natural food stores, like the "Good Earth". It has the same nutrients and fiber as any other Whole Wheat Flour, but it's ground very fine and is great for this type of thing.) and dried blueberries. Holy Cow...I might be in trouble. They are SO good.

Delicious Whole Wheat Bread

This bread is the best whole wheat bread I've ever had. My husband complained one day about how much I was spending on bread, so I decided to look for a recipe and try baking my own. I found this on http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/. This wonderful mother of 8, who makes her own EVERYTHING, and also home school's her children, developed this recipe. It is fabulous. I have altered it a little to fit my taste, so click on the link to see the original recipe. I haven't been baking because it's been so hot, but today I broke down and made 4 loaves because I missed this bread so much. The best thing is...it's SO easy!

You can get the wheat gluten at a natural food stores, or many grocery stores sell it too. I bought mine at Walmart. I ordered some white whole wheat flour online, and my favorite for this bread is 2 cups of red wheat flour, and 3 cups of white wheat flour. Here is a picture of the dough and a finished loaf.

Delicious Whole Wheat Bread

2 cups warm water

1/3 cup honey

1 T yeast

1/4 cup olive oil

2 t. salt

1/4 cup gluten flour

5 to 7 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour

In a large bowl or in a large mixer combine the water, yeast and honey. Let sit for a few minutes to give the yeast a chance to start working. Add the salt, oil, gluten flour and 3 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Continue to add more flour until the dough does not stick to the side of the bowl and does not feel sticky to the touch (about 5 ½ cups for me). Knead for 7 to 10 minutes in mixer. (This is the key! Knead lots!) When dough has finished kneading let it rise once until doubled in bulk. Punch down dough and divide it into 2 pieces and form into loaves and set in bread pans. Let it rise again in a slightly warm oven (this means that you turn the oven on for just 2 or 3 min. or until you can feel the heat and then turn it off, if it is too hot then it will kill the yeast) for 15 to 25 minutes or until the dough is ½ inch above top of pan. Turn oven to 350 (without taking bread out) and bake for approx. 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Then, the key is to try not and eat a whole loaf while it's hot! I made the mistake of making some strawberry freezer jam a week after I discovered this recipe...wow...those are incredible together!

My new favorite breakfast!

Okay, these aren't going to be the best photos, but here you go! I started making my own granola. Most of the recipes I looked at were very high in fat, but this one wasn't. It's also very nutritious. The nuts and flaxseed have all kinds of nutrients, like omega 3's and fiber. The oats have fiber as well, and the berries are all being called super foods!

This is my current favorite way to eat it... on yogurt (Yoplait large packaged yogurts come in strawberry and vanilla and have 1/2 % milkfat. They are awesome with this) and sometimes with fresh fruit if I have some. Oh yum! My two year olds BEG for this. If I don't have "granona" at lunch time, my daughter will cry. I found this recipe on cookinglight.com. If you're doing Weight Watchers, 1/2 C of this yogurt, with 1/4 C of granola is about 4 points! It's also great with milk.



Power Granola

2 cups regular oats
1/3 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chopped slivered almonds (I used whole raw almonds that I chopped myself.)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray
1/3 cup dried cranberries (or I used ¼ C dried cherries, ¼ C dried blueberries, and ¼ C dried cranberries)

Preheat oven to 300°. Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine orange juice, honey, and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat just until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in oil and vanilla. Pour honey mixture over oat mixture, stirring to coat. Spread mixture in a thin layer onto a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 300° for 10 minutes; stir well. Bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Spoon granola into a bowl; stir in dried cranberries. Cool completely.
Note: Store completely cooled granola in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Yield about 4 3/4 cups (serving size: about 1/2 cup) **If you’re going to double this, use two cookie sheets or else it doesn’t get done enough!

CALORIES 196(31% from fat); FAT 6.8g (sat 0.7g,mono 2.2g,poly 3.3g); PROTEIN 4.1g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 38mg; SODIUM 5mg; FIBER 3.6g; IRON 1.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 32.5g